Monday, February 23, 2015

Y'all know I have spent a lot of time in Wine Country . . . But this was a new adventure for me.
I actually flew out to meet friends in Los Alamos ~ California wine country!

You could almost see the Hollywood sign as we flew into LAX.

The drive up the pacific coast hiway in my rented convertible (ok... not really!) was amazing. Those beaches are so different for 'our' white sandy beaches.
This area north of Santa Barbara is such a beautiful area. There Lovely vineyards and rolling hills.Of course I had to get my GPS to direct me to the nearest Trader Joe's to pick up my share of appetizers and snackies.

We stayed at the Skyview Motel. . . a real throw back to the roadside motels that we remember growing up.Our first stop was at Zuca Mesa Winery, then right down the road fun and funky Martian Vineyard. The scenery was Beautiful, and the local growers were so proud of their nice wines.

Our last stop of the day was Frequency Wines in Los Alamos, another very good boutique winery. I liked the glass so much I had to bring one home.
Most fun of all . . . Sharing it all, sharing fun memories with long time Slow Traveling friends.

Monday, February 09, 2015

This past week I was lucky enough to join my traveling friends in Los Alamos for a SlowBowl. These are long time friends from around the country, who love to travel.
And Love to Eat.
One of the dishes we had was the cauliflower gratin from Full of Life Pizza . . . we all agree'd it was To.Die.For and left us wanting more.

The search was on ~ my friend Barb found a couple of similar recipes. I tweeked it a bit and came up with my own gluten free version.

Anything that starts with Butter and ends with heavy Cream, has this southern girl's heart.

Tuesday, February 03, 2015

For Our Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club this month, we are celebrating A Night at the Oscar's.
First we were to pick a movie ~ then a dish to share 'virtually' with the supper club.
The movie I picked is 'Eat Pray Love' . . . because those are my favorite things in the world.
My dish is a Fontal Polenta with a Mushroom Saute.

This video on Cooking Light (Yes! A video. Isn't that appropriate for the Night at the Oscars?) will run you through the process of making this easy dish.

Basically, you will make a thick polenta with milk and broth. Stir until it is creamy. Add grated Fontina cheese and stir.

Pour this creamy polenta into individual gratin dishes. Top with more cheese and melt.

Meanwhile, back at the stove . . . Saute the blend of mushrooms for 3-4 minutes, until soft and flavorful. Top each dish with the saute'd mushrooms and serve.

Now . . . let's see what everyone else has brought for our Oscar Movie and a Supper.Jerry has been watching 'Into The Woods' ~ and has made a Bean SoupVal is making a Cranberry Orange Trifle ~ in tribute to the movie 'The Queen'Sara has been watching 'The Hundred Foot Journey' and is making Pigonau Fermier Roti aux Epices Douces.Shelby is bringing Pimento Cheese Tea Sandwiches

Saturday, January 31, 2015

The PhotoHunt for today is 'Cube'
Of course I immediately thought of Gail's packing cubes . . .
This is a method of packing where you organize things in individual little cubes.

Cubes are one way . . . I prefer the zip loc bag method. I organize my things in jumbo bags.
Then the most important step is to sit on the bags and squish out the air. How else can I pack for a week in a 20 inch suitcase?

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Our Beautiful niece Brooke was married last week in a wonderful outdoor wedding (yes. . . in January) The weather was perfect. Every detail was just as they wanted it. The event was held at Mathews Manor in Springville
They did a wonderful job of making sure things went smoothly. . . Down to the tiniest detail.

It was just the perfect day . . . for everyone involved. Beth bravely walked Brooke down the aisle and handed her over to Casey. Then she and Brooke entertained us all with a Mother-Daughter dance that rocked the house. The send off with 3 foot long sparklers was the perfect ending (or... is that just the beginning?)

I was in charge of the wedding cake topper ~ I tried to make it as close as I could . . . while incorporating those crimson Roll Tide shakers that Brooke wanted.

I missed on the beard! I thought for sure that Casey would be shaving that thing off. (I need to remember that for a FUTURE cake topper)

I will post more photos of the details of the wedding . . . down to the Krispy Kreme groom's cake.
In the mean time, I have to hop over to ETSY to post my newest happy couple in my ETSY shop ~ Gimme Some Sugar Y'all ~
I am linking to my friend's Costal Charm for a little Show and Share!

About Us

Our family owned the Irondale cafe for many years...or more like it, it owned us! This is the very same cafe that was the basis of the novel that Fannie FLagg wrote.
Bill grew up around the railroad; both my dad and granddad were rail men. I was an engineer with Norfolk Southern before coming home to help at the cafe.
Now I stay busy with WhistleStop Products, shipping to Mom & Pop's across the country. Sandi, my wife, helps with the business when she is not working at her 'real job', as a Nurse Practitioner. We are always working on new products, cookbooks, and recipes!